ABC appoints new Head of Comedy

The ABC has appointed Rick Kalowski, currently Creative Director for Quail Television, as its new Head of Comedy.

Kalowski’s credits as either co‐creator/co-writer/executive producer include At Home with Julia, Comedy Inc, Double Take, Big Bite,The Honourable Wally Norman and the upcoming Wednesday Night Fever scoring AACTA/AFI Award nominations, Australian Writers’ Guild Awards and nominations, Logie Awards and a Golden Rose of Montreux nomination for Best International Comedy.

He has also developed comedy pilots for 20th Century Fox Television in the US, and for the BBC.

Kalowski said, “I’m hugely honoured and excited to be joining ABC TV as Head of Comedy. The ABC’s greatest comedy shows have been foundation experiences in my life, both as a viewer and a writer, and the opportunity to help continue that tradition is truly a privilege. Hopefully I don’t wreck the joint.”

Carole Sklan, ABC TV’s Head of Drama added “We’re delighted Rick is joining ABC TV as Head of Comedy. He is passionate about Australian comedy and brings considerable creative skills and experience to the role. Rick has written and produced hours of sketch and narrative comedy. He also has a background in the law which seems to have only enhanced his sense of humour.”

Kalowski will take up his position in Sydney following production of Wednesday Night Fever in the second half of 2013, and exit his role with Quail Television.

12 Comments:

@victor – spending some of that comedy money on pilots is a great idea. Most of the best comedies of all time started as pilots in the USA and UK. Time to give other writers a go (there are others out there writing comedy – I know because I’ve met them) instead of being a benevolent society for the same old faces.

This is a good development. But please just don’t produce a “comedy” because the budget is there for it as clearly this has failed with some truly unfunny recent comedies in the recent past. Better to make fewer but better developed comedies and some pilots. But with the BBC deal gone the ABC may put anything to air which is under developed but cheap to produce. Please, this strategy won’t be funny at all.

The ABC Comedy department has become a little Melbourne-centric over the last few years. Melbourne has a strong comedy tradition, but it would be nice (although difficult) for more comedy to be produced in Brisbane,Perth & Adelaide.

@HieroHero – Those shows are comedy gold compared to stuff like Laid, Please Like Me, etc. At least people actually watched the shows he was involved in. And at least he was trying to be funny. The comedy output from the ABC over the last several years has treated humour as if it were leprosy.

@jimboJones, comedy is subjective but I do agree with your comments. Those shows were made by the same small group of people that seem to have infiltrated the ABC, a clique. Kalowski is new blood & hopefully will broaden the range of producers that work there.

Great news – appointing a genre head who has been an actual producer. That is a step in the right direction. Now all we need is the same criterion applied to kids and drama. The ABC seems to be making a lot more good decisions at present.

Let’s hope he does a better job than his predecessor, who commissioned such spectacularly unfunny turkeys as Outland, Laid, Please Like Me, The Strange Calls, Angry Boys, Randling, Problems, Woodley, and Lowdown.